Driving the Wrong Way Down a One Way Street

I can remember three occasions on which I mistakenly drove the wrong way down a one-way street here in Ireland. Once, in Limerick (on my bike), once in Cork (in my car) and once in Ennis. It can be confusing when a traffic system changes, so that’s my excuse 😀. No-one took me to task. I just got off the street as quickly as I could. I could make the excuse that it was unintentional, but I don’t think that that should be an excuse. I should drive with due care and attention. I can’t see anyone being in any great danger if it’s a slow city street, but doing eccentric things when you drive can make you or others lose concentration.

Regarding the laws of God, we break his laws all the time, which is why we’d never make it to heaven if we were trying to get their through our own merits. I sometimes use the following illustration (again from the world of driving). I remember failing my first driving test. Even during the test, I was aware of having made mistakes that my tester recorded. After that, however well I did for the remainder of the test, it wouldn’t make up for my failures. I did pass the next time, but I had wondered if I ever would pass. But in relation to heaven, life is one long test, and we all fail, which is why we need a Saviour.

So, that’s why I depend on Jesus and not on myself.

Romans 3:23
²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a new law came into force where your driving instructor taught you to drive, and he did the driving test for you. And then, through some sort of AI application, he would continue to monitor your driving and give you tips on how to improve. And imagine if all those who went through that system ended up better drivers? How could such a thing work? Maybe it wouldn’t. But in relation to salvation, Jesus took the test for us and passed it with flying colours. He still wants us to be good drivers, and as we engage with him, we improve. But without Jesus, we would utterly fail.

Ephesians 2:8-9
⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Titus 3:5
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,